


What Lies Ahead

by Burningchaos



Category: Roswell (TV), Stargate SG-1
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Age Difference, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mind Control, Work Up For Adoption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2005-11-28
Updated: 2006-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 23:38:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1179300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burningchaos/pseuds/Burningchaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place four years after graduation and right after Moebius part 2. Liz and Max married; one year after being on the run they found a way to Antar. Thinking it would get them from the FBI’s grasp they all took the chance and left. Now four years later, a widowed Liz is leaving Antar through a Stargate. What she finds is the last thing she suspected. Takes place after Season 8 of Stargate SG1 and Season three of Roswell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All of the Dubious Consent take place off screen, but is heavily implied. This happens in the later chapters. Also In retrospect Liz is a bit of a Mary Sue.

Liz looked down at her hands, in the dark they were difficult to see but she swore they should have been covered in blood. She had killed in the name of love. She had learned to fight. She had become a weapon. Along with the fighting was learning to heal. She had held the injured as their life slid away. She had lied to them as she lied to herself. She told each and every person that lay in her hands that they would live. All in the name of love, it had been lies. All of it.

She was Queen of a dying planet. A planet that had never wanted them. Yes Khivar was a tyrant. He was a bastard who had a death grip on his people. He killed and he maimed. Yet his planet survived, or it had till they had shown up. At first they had been welcomed with open arms, the return of King Zanakith.

The people rose up as one to help over throw Khivar, not knowing he had powerful allies. Allies who were indebted to him. It had all been for nought. Antar hadn’t been the refuge they had hoped for. It was far from it. Now her planet no longer wanted or needed her. Khivar had won and was being welcomed back with open arms.

Liz paused as she looked around the place she had called home the last three years and shuddered. The palace’s cold rooms had echoed with cries and screams. Walls and floors that were washed with blood. Yet they had fought. They had fought when Max died, they had fought when Maria died. Michael wasted away; being Kind wasn’t what he had wanted. Still they had fought. As Kyle and Isabel were assassinated in each other’s arms they fought.

She and Michael took cold comfort in each other’s arms. Both knowing neither was what the other wanted. Michael died a fortnight ago. She had held him as his blood spilled over her hands and arms. He had whisper that it would be alright with his last breath. They had died one by one as Khivar attacked over and over. They had used everything at their disposal. Even the things that weren’t. Treaties had been made with Aliens who by all rights worse then what they were fighting. They had fought and lost.

Now, now she was alone. Her people, who claimed they had never wanted them in the first place, had asked her to leave. They had given her this one chance to go before Khivar retook the palace.

The Gate was old, it had long fallen into disuse, it had been forgotten. Melina, one of the few freedom fighters left had told Liz about it. She knew very few addresses, all taken from ancient crumbling texts. She had held the books with reverence as she offered them to Liz. She had claimed that it was the only way. Liz had taken an address for a world that sounded like Earth and prayed that it was. She wanted to go home.

Not that she had a home, she was most likely considered dead now. Even if she wasn’t she would still be hunted by the special unit. She wanted her home but she couldn’t go there. Liz wanted nothing more then to go home and wrap herself in her parent's love. She wanted it badly but she couldn't go there. How could she when it would be up to her to explain she was the only one left alive? How could she face Amy or Sheriff Valenti and tell them their only children were gone forever.

Liz walked toward the hidden cavern without a backward glance. Her weapons were strapped to her waist, her bag in her hand. She had nothing else to show for her reign here on Antar. Nothing, but hurt and desperation. She wasn’t the same girl Max had healed. She wasn’t even the same woman who arrived on Antar three years ago.

Liz looked at the gate sadly; it was a thing of beauty in many ways. The grace in its dust-covered curves couldn’t be denied. There was a time when the mere thought of it would have excited her beyond all measure. Now it was just a means to escape this world that had never needed her.

Liz sighed as she looked down at the dialling device; the hand raised over the keys bore her wedding ring. Liz dialled the address she had been given and watched the water like worm hole spring to life. There was a new life waiting for her on the other side. What or where that planet was she didn’t know, but it was to be her new home.

Liz looked at her left hand again, a sense of sadness washed over her. It had been almost two years now. Setting her bag down she pulled off her rings and set them on the ground. That life was gone, dead and buried. Head held high Liz picked up her bags and walked through the gate to whatever fate held in store for her now.

~*~  
Daniel frowned at Jack, as he spoke “Look Jack don’t be ridiculous, no one will care if you date Sam, not now.” Jack picked up another strangely shaped rock off Daniel’s desk; he turned it over and set it down as slim fingers went to grab it.

“Yeah well if you are sure? I mean I don’t want it to look…funny. She did just dump Pete.”

Letting out a frustrated sigh “Jack you…just ask her all right.” Daniel got up to leave, grabbing his pack as he walked out the door.

Jack was close on his heels “Danny where ya goin?”

The longsuffering Archaeologist turned “Um Jack you are sending us to P3X-6482, remember?”

“Oh yeah…” Jack smiled his tone long and drawn out as he tapped his head “You know all that paper work…” He trails off and shakes his head “You be careful out there.”

Jack turned the corner and started toward his office as Daniel mutter, “What could go wrong almost all the Goa’uld are dead, the Replicators are gone…” his voice tapering of as he headed to the gate room. Jack couldn’t help but think _I hope you are right Danny, I hope you are right_.

~*~  
Daniel fired off another shot as he raced toward the gate with Sam and Teal’c. He couldn’t help but think about what he said to Jack. He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. Dust kicked up as a blast landed close enough to singe his pants. He turned and saw Sam get hit in the side. A soft sound escaped her mouth as she fell. Panic raced through Daniel as Teal’c swept her up and continued to run. Sweat beaded on his brow while fear raced through him. It was never simple.

“Daniel Jackson we must get to the gate.” Daniel fired his Zat again hitting the enemy closest to them, before turning and running toward the gate.

Daniel stood in front of the DHD his fingers hovering over the buttons as the gate whooshed to life. “Teal’c incoming!” Daniel dove for cover, sure reinforcements would soon be pouring through the gate. Daniel prepared to fire as he looked up, another blast hit next to his head before turned he and fired.

~*~  
Liz stepped through the gate; as she did an energy burst from a staff weapon hit the wormhole next to her. Dropping to the ground she quickly crawled toward the dialling device. She paused as she saw a man fire toward the trees.

Sighing Liz pulled out her guns. Weapons had been little used on Antar; after all they had powers there. She how ever still preferred them, her healing and other powers were more strongly developed then her offensive abilities. Liz took a deep breath this wasn’t what she had been expecting as she had walked through the gate.

Daniel looked toward the woman who had come through the gate. She was young, and armed. She looked at him for a moment, her chocolate coloured eyes weary and hard before she started to fire. The energy blast her weapons emitted were like nothing he had seen. Orange light hit one of the warriors attacking them; he convulsed and screamed as he fell.

Liz fired over and over, the man kneeling next to her shooting too. Her eyes caught sight of the American flag and suddenly Liz knew she was on the right side. Relief flooded over her. Here was her way home.

“Daniel Jackson, Col. Carter is fading, we must return NOW.”

Daniel grabbed the radio “Kinda pinned down here Teal’c, even with the extra help.” Daniel fired his Zat again as he spoke. “Where are you?”

“I am to your left.” Teal’c responded.

Liz looked at him “Daniel right? Look I can get us out of here but you need to take me with you. I want to go back to earth.”

Daniel frowned at the woman as she spoke, “How...”

Liz cut him off “There isn’t any time, yes or no?”

“Jack’s not going to like this, but yes now do what ever you are going to do.”

Liz took a deep breath, she wasn’t very good at this and it was draining. She formed the image in her mind, she pictured the men falling, she pictured them dying, gasping for air. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she fought to make it happen. She had only done this once and Isabel had helped her then. A tremor ran through her body as the weapon’s fire stopped. Liz held the image, held on to the desire that fuelled it as she heard them falling and gapping for breath. She held it till she felt a hand on her shoulder. Liz opened her eyes and took the offered hand.

Daniel looked at Teal’c, who was carrying Sam, before dialling Earth. He had no idea what had just happened but he knew it was big.

As the Gate wooshed to life Daniel immediately grabbed his radio, “Walter we got a wounded…Sam’s been hit and it is bad…” He punched in the IDC as he looked to the now wilting brunette. Whatever she had done had obviously tired her. He couldn’t fathom what she was, she knew about earth and her ‘powers’ were like nothing he had ever seen. He grabbed his pack, then Liz’s arm and guided her through the Gate. As he stepped through he remembered he had forgotten to tell Jack they had company coming too.

 

Liz felt the exhaustion deep with in her. Every breath was tiring. She looked down at Daniel’s hand and let him guide her. The gentleness in his touch was surprising, and strangely comforting. After walking through the gate she found herself in a large room, and surrounded by military men. Liz yanked her arm away as fear coursed through her. She had seen Daniel and the other’s clothes yet it hadn’t really sunk in that they were military till this exact moment; when it was too late.

Jack was dying inside as he watched Brightman work on Sam. Her injuries were so severe that he hadn’t been able to move her yet, which was not good. Not good at all. Worry worked its way through his stomach like acid. He was so consumed he hadn’t yet seen their latest guest.

“She’s fading, Sir I am not sure there is anything I can do.” Jack felt his heart clench and splinter. He couldn’t lose Sam not yet, not now. He hadn’t told her how he felt, that he loved her. He had foolishly wasted so much time. All this raced through his mind as he watched helplessly. Teal’c came and laid his hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“O’Neill, we have brought someone back with us. She helped us escape, but was not from that world. She arrived as we approached the DHD. She knew we were from earth; some how without a weapon, or touching the enemy she killed them.” Jack frowned as he turned and looked at the petite young woman standing just behind Daniel. Her fear was evident in the tight lines around her mouth and unnaturally pale skin. Her hand was raised defensively as she warily looked the room over. She was a warrior; every line of her body screamed it. The way her eyes shifted and jumped from man to man, Jack knew she was calculating the danger, assessing the threats.

“Lower your weapons.” Jack moved his hands in a downward motion as he spoke. One by one the soldiers said yes sir, lowered their guns and left the room. The woman relaxed, not much but relaxed none the less. “No one is going to hurt you, so just…be calm”

“Sir, Lt. Carter isn’t going to make it…” Jack jumped and turned, his whole body going ridged as those words came from Brightman’s mouth.

Liz watched O’Neill, she saw him tense as he was told that Sam was going to die. Love for her was written plainly across his face. Love like she had once thought belonged to her. Liz knew this was going to be bad, yet she knew it was with in her to heal Sam. She knew that she could fix this. Tiredness was pulling at her limbs, dragging her down even as she moved forward. She moved past Daniel’s questioning gaze. She slid between the other’s not letting them stop her.

The air of confidence and determination that surrounded her gave everyone pause. It stunned them long enough for her to reach Sam’s side. The blonde officer was pale, her skin almost translucent. Liz removed the bandages and placed her hands on the wound. Blood began to seep steadily from it as Liz focused on the beat of Sam’s pulse. She could hear shouting behind her; forcefully tuning it out she began.

Sam’s mind was well ordered and focused. She had a sparkling intelligence that left Liz in awe. She hadn’t even encountered Antariens with minds this complex and they were supposed to be an evolved race. Liz saw Sam turning around in confusion, not understanding that she was dying.

As she stepped forward “Hello Sam, I’m Liz. I am going to heal you, but I need your help.”

Sam looked at her questioningly her head tipped to the side “Heal me? You aren’t Goa’uld, even here I can tell that. Wait...” Sam looked around, her face now betraying her confusion and puzzlement, “Where am I?”

Liz walked over toward her gesturing outward as she spoke, “This Lt. Col. is your mind. You are dying, but I am here to stop that,” Liz paused and looked at the woman she was about to save. “Do you love him as much as he loves you? O’Neill, do you care for him, his frustration and fear were so tangible when the Doctor said you were going to die.”

Sam looked up through narrowed eyes, “Why is it any concern of yours if I do or don’t?” her voice cautious.

“It is because of what I saw in him at that moment that I am doing this; that I am risking damage to myself to heal you. I thought I had a love as strong as the one he possesses for you. In the end though he was weak, he turned from me and blamed me for what was happening to us. What I see and feel from your General such a beautiful thing, I refuse to let him lose it.”

“You don’t know us how, “Sam shook her head, “yes I love him, I have for years. I broke up with a man who I could have been happy with because I knew that even though I could have been happy it would have been settling. I love Jack. I always have.”

Liz smiled as the other woman spoke; her love was shining out through her memories. Liz was jealous in so many ways. This woman had what she wanted, a love that would last; a love that wouldn’t falter. She was lucky in ways she didn’t yet know.

“Good, then look at me focus on where things hurt, think only of the pain.” Liz was already seeing the vessels, tendons, and tissue that had been severed and seared. She was already piecing them back together in her mind. She could feel Sam’s pain sinking into her, she gasped as it lanced through her. Tugging at her concentration, trying to cause her focus to slip.

Sam felt warmth spread through out her body it was liquid; it lapped around the edges of the pain easing it away with each wave. She felt herself being pulled out of her mind, her consciousness returning. She could feel Liz’s hands on her side, she knew this woman now. Intimately, she saw her intentions, her fears, and cares. She knew her for these moments as she knew herself. Suddenly it was all yanked away as she jack-knifed, a cough racking her body.

Jack was chewing on his nails, it was a nasty habit really but he couldn’t do what he wanted, which was take Sam in his arms and hold her. The woman, who Daniel had called Liz, walked passed all of them, he still hadn’t figure that out, and was kneeling next to Sam. Her face getting paler and paler by the second, where as Sam was pinking up. He didn’t know why he hadn’t put a stop to it, he wasn’t even sure what this Liz woman was doing but Brightman said her vitals were climbing. Suddenly Sam sat up, once again Jack’s stomach bottomed out. She was all right and he couldn’t touch her, not now, not here. But he would be damned if he didn’t talk to her tonight.

Liz moved back from Sam as she sat up and tried to gather herself to stand. She once again found Daniel’s hand being offered to her. She reached for it, but her arms felt like lead. Darkness encroached on her vision as she slumped to the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Liz looked down at her hands, in the dark they were difficult to see but she swore they should have been covered in blood. She had killed in the name of love. She had learned to fight. She had become a weapon. Along with the fighting was learning to heal. She had held the injured as their life slid away. She had lied to them as she lied to herself. She told each and every person that lay in her hands that they would live. All in the name of love, it had been lies. All of it.

She was Queen of a dying planet. A planet that had never wanted them. Yes Khivar was a tyrant. He was a bastard who had a death grip on his people. He killed and he maimed. Yet his planet survived, or it had till they had shown up. At first they had been welcomed with open arms, the return of King Zanakith.

The people rose up as one to help over throw Khivar, not knowing he had powerful allies. Allies who were indebted to him. It had all been for nought. Antar hadn’t been the refuge they had hoped for. It was far from it. Now her planet no longer wanted or needed her. Khivar had won and was being welcomed back with open arms.

Liz paused as she looked around the place she had called home the last three years and shuddered. The palace’s cold rooms had echoed with cries and screams. Walls and floors that were washed with blood. Yet they had fought. They had fought when Max died, they had fought when Maria died. Michael wasted away; being Kind wasn’t what he had wanted. Still they had fought. As Kyle and Isabel were assassinated in each other’s arms they fought.

She and Michael took cold comfort in each other’s arms. Both knowing neither was what the other wanted. Michael died a fortnight ago. She had held him as his blood spilled over her hands and arms. He had whisper that it would be alright with his last breath. They had died one by one as Khivar attacked over and over. They had used everything at their disposal. Even the things that weren’t. Treaties had been made with Aliens who by all rights worse then what they were fighting. They had fought and lost.

Now, now she was alone. Her people, who claimed they had never wanted them in the first place, had asked her to leave. They had given her this one chance to go before Khivar retook the palace.

The Gate was old, it had long fallen into disuse, it had been forgotten. Melina, one of the few freedom fighters left had told Liz about it. She knew very few addresses, all taken from ancient crumbling texts. She had held the books with reverence as she offered them to Liz. She had claimed that it was the only way. Liz had taken an address for a world that sounded like Earth and prayed that it was. She wanted to go home.

Not that she had a home, she was most likely considered dead now. Even if she wasn’t she would still be hunted by the special unit. She wanted her home but she couldn’t go there. Liz wanted nothing more then to go home and wrap herself in her parent's love. She wanted it badly but she couldn't go there. How could she when it would be up to her to explain she was the only one left alive? How could she face Amy or Sheriff Valenti and tell them their only children were gone forever.

Liz walked toward the hidden cavern without a backward glance. Her weapons were strapped to her waist, her bag in her hand. She had nothing else to show for her reign here on Antar. Nothing, but hurt and desperation. She wasn’t the same girl Max had healed. She wasn’t even the same woman who arrived on Antar three years ago.

Liz looked at the gate sadly; it was a thing of beauty in many ways. The grace in its dust-covered curves couldn’t be denied. There was a time when the mere thought of it would have excited her beyond all measure. Now it was just a means to escape this world that had never needed her.

Liz sighed as she looked down at the dialling device; the hand raised over the keys bore her wedding ring. Liz dialled the address she had been given and watched the water like worm hole spring to life. There was a new life waiting for her on the other side. What or where that planet was she didn’t know, but it was to be her new home.

Liz looked at her left hand again, a sense of sadness washed over her. It had been almost two years now. Setting her bag down she pulled off her rings and set them on the ground. That life was gone, dead and buried. Head held high Liz picked up her bags and walked through the gate to whatever fate held in store for her now.

~*~  
Daniel frowned at Jack, as he spoke “Look Jack don’t be ridiculous, no one will care if you date Sam, not now.” Jack picked up another strangely shaped rock off Daniel’s desk; he turned it over and set it down as slim fingers went to grab it.

“Yeah well if you are sure? I mean I don’t want it to look…funny. She did just dump Pete.”

Letting out a frustrated sigh “Jack you…just ask her all right.” Daniel got up to leave, grabbing his pack as he walked out the door.

Jack was close on his heels “Danny where ya goin?”

The longsuffering Archaeologist turned “Um Jack you are sending us to P3X-6482, remember?”

“Oh yeah…” Jack smiled his tone long and drawn out as he tapped his head “You know all that paper work…” He trails off and shakes his head “You be careful out there.”

Jack turned the corner and started toward his office as Daniel mutter, “What could go wrong almost all the Goa’uld are dead, the Replicators are gone…” his voice tapering of as he headed to the gate room. Jack couldn’t help but think _I hope you are right Danny, I hope you are right_.

~*~  
Daniel fired off another shot as he raced toward the gate with Sam and Teal’c. He couldn’t help but think about what he said to Jack. He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. Dust kicked up as a blast landed close enough to singe his pants. He turned and saw Sam get hit in the side. A soft sound escaped her mouth as she fell. Panic raced through Daniel as Teal’c swept her up and continued to run. Sweat beaded on his brow while fear raced through him. It was never simple.

“Daniel Jackson we must get to the gate.” Daniel fired his Zat again hitting the enemy closest to them, before turning and running toward the gate.

Daniel stood in front of the DHD his fingers hovering over the buttons as the gate whooshed to life. “Teal’c incoming!” Daniel dove for cover, sure reinforcements would soon be pouring through the gate. Daniel prepared to fire as he looked up, another blast hit next to his head before turned he and fired.

~*~  
Liz stepped through the gate; as she did an energy burst from a staff weapon hit the wormhole next to her. Dropping to the ground she quickly crawled toward the dialling device. She paused as she saw a man fire toward the trees.

Sighing Liz pulled out her guns. Weapons had been little used on Antar; after all they had powers there. She how ever still preferred them, her healing and other powers were more strongly developed then her offensive abilities. Liz took a deep breath this wasn’t what she had been expecting as she had walked through the gate.

Daniel looked toward the woman who had come through the gate. She was young, and armed. She looked at him for a moment, her chocolate coloured eyes weary and hard before she started to fire. The energy blast her weapons emitted were like nothing he had seen. Orange light hit one of the warriors attacking them; he convulsed and screamed as he fell.

Liz fired over and over, the man kneeling next to her shooting too. Her eyes caught sight of the American flag and suddenly Liz knew she was on the right side. Relief flooded over her. Here was her way home.

“Daniel Jackson, Col. Carter is fading, we must return NOW.”

Daniel grabbed the radio “Kinda pinned down here Teal’c, even with the extra help.” Daniel fired his Zat again as he spoke. “Where are you?”

“I am to your left.” Teal’c responded.

Liz looked at him “Daniel right? Look I can get us out of here but you need to take me with you. I want to go back to earth.”

Daniel frowned at the woman as she spoke, “How...”

Liz cut him off “There isn’t any time, yes or no?”

“Jack’s not going to like this, but yes now do what ever you are going to do.”

Liz took a deep breath, she wasn’t very good at this and it was draining. She formed the image in her mind, she pictured the men falling, she pictured them dying, gasping for air. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she fought to make it happen. She had only done this once and Isabel had helped her then. A tremor ran through her body as the weapon’s fire stopped. Liz held the image, held on to the desire that fuelled it as she heard them falling and gapping for breath. She held it till she felt a hand on her shoulder. Liz opened her eyes and took the offered hand.

Daniel looked at Teal’c, who was carrying Sam, before dialling Earth. He had no idea what had just happened but he knew it was big.

As the Gate wooshed to life Daniel immediately grabbed his radio, “Walter we got a wounded…Sam’s been hit and it is bad…” He punched in the IDC as he looked to the now wilting brunette. Whatever she had done had obviously tired her. He couldn’t fathom what she was, she knew about earth and her ‘powers’ were like nothing he had ever seen. He grabbed his pack, then Liz’s arm and guided her through the Gate. As he stepped through he remembered he had forgotten to tell Jack they had company coming too.

 

Liz felt the exhaustion deep with in her. Every breath was tiring. She looked down at Daniel’s hand and let him guide her. The gentleness in his touch was surprising, and strangely comforting. After walking through the gate she found herself in a large room, and surrounded by military men. Liz yanked her arm away as fear coursed through her. She had seen Daniel and the other’s clothes yet it hadn’t really sunk in that they were military till this exact moment; when it was too late.

Jack was dying inside as he watched Brightman work on Sam. Her injuries were so severe that he hadn’t been able to move her yet, which was not good. Not good at all. Worry worked its way through his stomach like acid. He was so consumed he hadn’t yet seen their latest guest.

“She’s fading, Sir I am not sure there is anything I can do.” Jack felt his heart clench and splinter. He couldn’t lose Sam not yet, not now. He hadn’t told her how he felt, that he loved her. He had foolishly wasted so much time. All this raced through his mind as he watched helplessly. Teal’c came and laid his hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“O’Neill, we have brought someone back with us. She helped us escape, but was not from that world. She arrived as we approached the DHD. She knew we were from earth; some how without a weapon, or touching the enemy she killed them.” Jack frowned as he turned and looked at the petite young woman standing just behind Daniel. Her fear was evident in the tight lines around her mouth and unnaturally pale skin. Her hand was raised defensively as she warily looked the room over. She was a warrior; every line of her body screamed it. The way her eyes shifted and jumped from man to man, Jack knew she was calculating the danger, assessing the threats.

“Lower your weapons.” Jack moved his hands in a downward motion as he spoke. One by one the soldiers said yes sir, lowered their guns and left the room. The woman relaxed, not much but relaxed none the less. “No one is going to hurt you, so just…be calm”

“Sir, Lt. Carter isn’t going to make it…” Jack jumped and turned, his whole body going ridged as those words came from Brightman’s mouth.

Liz watched O’Neill, she saw him tense as he was told that Sam was going to die. Love for her was written plainly across his face. Love like she had once thought belonged to her. Liz knew this was going to be bad, yet she knew it was with in her to heal Sam. She knew that she could fix this. Tiredness was pulling at her limbs, dragging her down even as she moved forward. She moved past Daniel’s questioning gaze. She slid between the other’s not letting them stop her.

The air of confidence and determination that surrounded her gave everyone pause. It stunned them long enough for her to reach Sam’s side. The blonde officer was pale, her skin almost translucent. Liz removed the bandages and placed her hands on the wound. Blood began to seep steadily from it as Liz focused on the beat of Sam’s pulse. She could hear shouting behind her; forcefully tuning it out she began.

Sam’s mind was well ordered and focused. She had a sparkling intelligence that left Liz in awe. She hadn’t even encountered Antariens with minds this complex and they were supposed to be an evolved race. Liz saw Sam turning around in confusion, not understanding that she was dying.

As she stepped forward “Hello Sam, I’m Liz. I am going to heal you, but I need your help.”

Sam looked at her questioningly her head tipped to the side “Heal me? You aren’t Goa’uld, even here I can tell that. Wait...” Sam looked around, her face now betraying her confusion and puzzlement, “Where am I?”

Liz walked over toward her gesturing outward as she spoke, “This Lt. Col. is your mind. You are dying, but I am here to stop that,” Liz paused and looked at the woman she was about to save. “Do you love him as much as he loves you? O’Neill, do you care for him, his frustration and fear were so tangible when the Doctor said you were going to die.”

Sam looked up through narrowed eyes, “Why is it any concern of yours if I do or don’t?” her voice cautious.

“It is because of what I saw in him at that moment that I am doing this; that I am risking damage to myself to heal you. I thought I had a love as strong as the one he possesses for you. In the end though he was weak, he turned from me and blamed me for what was happening to us. What I see and feel from your General such a beautiful thing, I refuse to let him lose it.”

“You don’t know us how, “Sam shook her head, “yes I love him, I have for years. I broke up with a man who I could have been happy with because I knew that even though I could have been happy it would have been settling. I love Jack. I always have.”

Liz smiled as the other woman spoke; her love was shining out through her memories. Liz was jealous in so many ways. This woman had what she wanted, a love that would last; a love that wouldn’t falter. She was lucky in ways she didn’t yet know.

“Good, then look at me focus on where things hurt, think only of the pain.” Liz was already seeing the vessels, tendons, and tissue that had been severed and seared. She was already piecing them back together in her mind. She could feel Sam’s pain sinking into her, she gasped as it lanced through her. Tugging at her concentration, trying to cause her focus to slip.

Sam felt warmth spread through out her body it was liquid; it lapped around the edges of the pain easing it away with each wave. She felt herself being pulled out of her mind, her consciousness returning. She could feel Liz’s hands on her side, she knew this woman now. Intimately, she saw her intentions, her fears, and cares. She knew her for these moments as she knew herself. Suddenly it was all yanked away as she jack-knifed, a cough racking her body.

Jack was chewing on his nails, it was a nasty habit really but he couldn’t do what he wanted, which was take Sam in his arms and hold her. The woman, who Daniel had called Liz, walked passed all of them, he still hadn’t figure that out, and was kneeling next to Sam. Her face getting paler and paler by the second, where as Sam was pinking up. He didn’t know why he hadn’t put a stop to it, he wasn’t even sure what this Liz woman was doing but Brightman said her vitals were climbing. Suddenly Sam sat up, once again Jack’s stomach bottomed out. She was all right and he couldn’t touch her, not now, not here. But he would be damned if he didn’t talk to her tonight.

Liz moved back from Sam as she sat up and tried to gather herself to stand. She once again found Daniel’s hand being offered to her. She reached for it, but her arms felt like lead. Darkness encroached on her vision as she slumped to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Liz slept; it was a restless sleep that was frequently interrupted by nurses checking her vitals; dream fragments and images from the day. It was nearing dawn, as she lie awake wishing she could see the sun. If it hadn’t been for the clock and the changing of the guards she would have never even known what time it was. She heard an odd little whistle; it was slightly off key and out of place. Liz frowned, her memories, the ones from Sam, told her who it was, and Liz wasn’t up for a round of sparring with the good General. Yet she knew as he entered the room she had no choice.

“So I see you are all ready awake. I talked to Brightman and he has given you the all clear.” Jack had a weird expression on his face, one that Liz couldn’t seem to read. He tossed some BUDs on her bed as he continued, “ So what do you say you get cleaned up and we chat over some breakfast?”

Liz searched his face for clues; he was in a completely different mood then last night. She wondered briefly if his moods were always so mercurial. “Sure that sounds fine to me, I can shower first though right?” Liz grimaced as she fingered her hair. It wasn’t really dirty but she felt grimy after the fighting and gate travel.

“Huh, um yeah sure. Just have the guards bring you to my office when you’re done.” Jack turned to leave, paused and seemed to decided against whatever he was going to say because he put his hands in his pockets and walked out whistling tunelessly once again. He left Liz baffled, but she quickly got up and headed to the shower just off the infirmary bathroom. She had a General to figure out.

Jack sat in his office and stared at the print out in front of him. It was nice to have people like Walter around; the man could hack into any computer he wanted. Sure he looked mild mannered but Walter was a rebel. So back to the print out, he looked it over and sighed, this was the part of the job he hated. This was the part where he had to tell some one bad news and he really, really hated that. Too bad it was breakfast time he could really use cake.

Liz cleared her throat as she looked into the office, Jack looked distantly uncomfortable. He glanced up at the sound and gave her a forced smile. “Sweet my stomach was getting ready to claw it’s way down to the commissary on it’s own.” He stood up and dismissed the guards. Liz fell into step beside him as they walked down a bright hall that looked like all the others she had seen so far. She felt uncomfortable with the silence that lay between her and the general. It was thick and heavy; she mentally paused as she thought how much she missed Melina and Michael right now. She had an image of Jack and Michael butting heads, oh and Melina would be jumping right in. Her heart ached with the loss of her two dear friends. She should have never left Melina behind.

Entering the commissary the noise level dropped, people turned to look toward her as she entered. Liz ignored them, as she smelled coffee, Oh gods she had missed coffee. That year on the run had caused a massive coffee addiction and when they reached Antar she soon came to realize that the planet didn’t have coffee. She wandered over to the coffee machine without a second glance toward Jack; she snagged a cup and filled it, wrapped both her hands around the cup and took in the scent. Liz remembered who she was with, then threw Jack a half smile and sat down at an empty table.

Jack inwardly shook his head she was so much like Daniel, he would never bow to that various Goa’uld scum that purported themselves as Gods but he was well on his way to starting a new religion involving coffee. Jack grabbed some waffles and a bagel, he didn’t know what Liz liked but she hadn’t eaten and if she was like Danny as she seemed then he knew she wouldn’t eat unless pushed. Which was his job, pushing. He was more then good at it too, he pushed his team, he pushed Sam away. Hell he even pushed himself. He had pushed and pushed till he drove to Sam’s house then sat outside for four hours. He just hadn’t been able to push himself through her door. Jack walked over to Liz after he grabbed a carafe of coffee and sat down.

He silently refilled her cup and set the bagel in front of her. “I didn’t know what you liked but I am pretty sure you can’t live on coffee. No matter what Daniel says.”

Liz smiled, the General really cared about Daniel, and they seemed more like brothers then best friends. Sam loved this man, and he loved her. So maybe, just maybe she could find a way to get along with him.

“Thanks, a bagel is just fine,” she tore of a piece and popped in her mouth. Yep there were a lot of things she had missed about earth.

****  
Sam groaned sunlight streamed across her room causing just enough discomfort to force her to get up. She swung her legs over her bed, wiped her grit filled eyes and forced herself to face the day. She truthfully wanted nothing more then to lie down and throw the covers back over her head. To do anything but think, which in all reality she never could stop doing. If only she had closed her blinds before bed, she thought bitterly as she reached for clothes. It didn’t matter what she wore, after all she was just going to change the minute she got to work.

As she got into her car Sam wondered briefly if this is what depression felt like. The utter lack of joy, the endless monotony that seemed to be suffocating her. She used to love every moment of her job, the discovery, meeting new people. When had it all changed? When had it become a chore? It was bad enough she was going to have to see McKensie for the near death experience, but now with all this boiling inside her. It was getting harder and harder to hide everything. Part of the trouble was Jack and her feelings for him. She loved him; she had for almost six years now. As Jack’s second in command it was against the regulations for them to date. There were times though, moments it seemed… Liz had said he loved her. She didn’t feel it though, his lack of action, his avoiding her. It was one thing to be crappy at expressing yourself it was another to be an emotional Neanderthal. She wondered again if breaking off things with Pete had been the right thing to do. Maybe she didn’t love him enough, but at least she knew he cared.

Pulling on to the base, her was heart heavy, maybe it was time to leave SG1. Sam knew that she would be welcomed at Area 51. Hell there were teams of scientist flying in and out of McMurdo to the Ancients outpost every day, she could even go there. So she would have to deal with McKay, it would still be better then hanging around here day after day waiting for Jack to make up his mind. Getting out of her car and heading to sign in Sam thought that soon, really soon she was going to have to make that choice.

*****  
Daniel hadn’t gone home that night; he had slept in the room kept for him on base. Truthfully there were times he wondered why he even bothered to keep a place in town. For reasons other then storage that is. As his morning urge for coffee set him to moving it struck him he had forgot to call Sam last night. Guilt washed over him as he raced to the shower. He wanted to see Liz, but first and for most he needed to check on his quasi-sister. He had planned on it. It was what they did. Sam checked on him, he checked on her, they shared those duties when it came to Jack and Teal’c. Although more and more often he was the one checking up on Jack. The man was frustratingly blind, but then Daniel knew that could also be said of himself when it came to relationships. He did have good reasons to be frightened, after all hadn’t the majority of the women who had liked him since joining the program been evil. Sha’re hadn’t been, at first.

It was strange to think about Liz so much this quickly; it seemed she had invaded his mind. He had lay on his bed for hours wondering about her, thinking about what she had gone through. What she was. Daniel couldn’t stop himself, everything about her screamed for his attention and interest. He paused on that train of thought as he dressed, he hadn’t felt like this since he was first introduced to Sha’re. He couldn’t help but wonder if the fact that he and Liz had both lived on other planets and married aliens was fostering this connection, this pull toward her. It seemed a plausible theory. Daniel gave himself a wry grin as he set of to see if Sam was in, keep telling yourself that Danny he could hear almost hear Jack say. Daniel knew that he was going to have a very hard time being objective when it came to the issue of Liz Parker.

Khivar’s scream of frustration reverberated off the walls of the granolith room. “That fucking whore took it with her,” the men in the room all flinched as he continued to rant. Khivar whirled toward his second “Nicholas I want her found. I want her brought back here in one piece so I can kill her myself. I want to see her blood pour over my hands and hear her scream.” The King’s face was contorted with rage. “Do not fail me in this; I will not hesitate to kill you if you do.”

Nicholas hid his fear, to show weakness in front of his King was to show him you were unworthy. Khivar brooked no weaklings, and failure meant death, no matter who you were. Snapping to attention “I will my Lord, and the key?”

Khivar’s smile was feral and his eyes narrowed, “I want that found too, but some how I believe if you find the Parker bitch you will find the key.”

“My Lord I will not fail you,” Nicholas saluted and left to prepare his soldier’s. He had a displaced Queen to find.

Khivar watched the only man he trusted leave the room then turned to look at the Granolith, he was one of the few to know it’s true purpose and it’s origins. The gate builder’s had left it behind, the reasons were lost but no longer essential. It was a weapon that could and would help him become more powerful than any of the Asguard, the former System Lords, and more powerful then the now dead Anubis. He needed the key though, without it the granolith was just a useless pile of metal. How Parker had figured it out was a mystery, it had taken him the better part of 40 years to find the truth and to learn why it was so heavily guarded by Zan’s family. He had paid then killed countless men of science to learn the Granolith’s secret and be given the treatment to use it. Now when he had thought the ultimate victory was so close and to have it ripped away. His rage and desire for revenge were unfathomable.

*****

Daniel frowned at Sam; she was really not as okay as she claimed. He knew it; he also knew that pushing her would make it worse. She had suffered so many loses in the past few weeks, and though Sam would never admit to it, when she chose to she was just as good at hiding her emotions as Jack. Right now she was choosing too and there was nothing he could do about it. “So, Sam, you had breakfast yet?”

Sam gave Daniel a wary grin; she knew he wouldn’t let this go for long he was like a dog with a bone. Right now though the fact the he was letting it rest meant more to Sam then she could say, he was without a doubt her best friend. She knew if there was anyone she could talk to it was him, but right now she couldn’t. Her emotions were just too raw. “No, I haven’t eaten yet, but you have to promise me you will not just sit there and drink coffee,” Sam gave him a real smile this time as she spoke.

“I promise Sam,” Daniel laughed as they turned and walked toward the commissary. As they turned the corner they heard it, and looked at one another in surprise. Jack was laughing, a full out booming laugh that was rarely heard anymore. Speeding up they turned and saw Liz sitting with Jack. All the personal in the room wore similar expressions of shock. Jack was smiling, a real smile too not that I am just amusing you one he usually gave out.

Stunned Daniel watched Liz’s face light up as she laughed; she was radiant with her hair spilling down her back and a smile on her lips. She looked so young like that and for a second Daniel felt very, very old, he was after all in his late thirties. He was easily fourteen years older then her. Yet he also knew he would never be able to deny his attraction to her. It was like a fist to the gut leaving slightly breathless and aching. Daniel turned to go get some breakfast and coffee. His thoughts once again chaotic and he knew that he and Jack would soon be talking about this confusion he felt.

Guiding Sam over toward the line they quickly got their food and headed toward the table. “Hey Liz,” Daniel smiled at her brightly “How are you feeling this morning?” Liz looked up her smile seemed to grow when she saw him, all though Daniel thought he could be imagining it.

“I am doing fine, my powers will be off for a few days so other then that I am good.” Jack frowned as she said that, Liz caught that almost instantly. “I am not supposed to mention that here am I?”

“Nope that would be classified now, in fact you’re being alive is classified.” Jack’s tone was dry as he spoke, “Danny, Sam take a load off.” Jack waved toward the empty chairs; Daniel glanced at Sam and sat next to Jack, earning a smile from her as he did.

Liz looked at Sam, she had recognized her immediately, and couldn’t wait to talk to her. As Sam sat Liz studied her and saw how close she was to breaking. Liz smiled at her “Hi, how are you feeling this morning? You alright aren’t you?” Liz’s voice was tender and concerned.

“I am surprisingly good, not even a scar. It is kind of overwhelming though, there are so many things I need to ask you,” Sam looked at the slight young woman and was amazed, she had seen her but now she was really looking at her. This was a girl who was wound tight, even as she was smiling and laughing it was there. In a way it reminded her of Teal’c oddly enough. Sam looked around for a moment.

“Sir where is Teal’c?”

Jack winced, “Um T had some council business, Bra’tac had radioed for him while you were off world. He should be back in a week or two.”

“Oh, so are we on stand down till he gets back then?”

“Pretty much. Unless you have to run off and save the world,” Jack’s voice was dry and full of his brand of humor. “ So you know rest up, get some air, but knowing you it is just an excuse to clear off the counter in your office, Danny too for that matter.”

“Actually Jack since we have some time I was hoping I could take Liz shopping, I am sure she needs some clothing. One back pack of stuff isn’t going to last her long.”

Jack shook his head; shock covered his features as he stared at Daniel. “Wait _you_ are volunteering to go shopping…is that what I am hearing?”

“Sir, it is a really good idea,” Sam nodded wishing she had thought of it. “In fact, if Liz wants, when she is cleared to leave base she is more then welcome to stay with me.”

Surprise flitted across Liz’s face; she hadn’t expected the kindness she was receiving from these people. It had been so long since she had a conversation with someone who didn’t have an agenda. “I would really like that, Thank you.”

“All right then, that’s settled we need to all have a chat. There are some things I need to discuss with Liz and since I hate to repeat myself the two of you are going to join us.” Jack stood and headed toward his office.

Daniel frowned, “Shall we?” Sam nodded, as did Liz. “Did you sleep well last night?” Daniel wanted to slap himself that was so inane, what was it about him and an attractive woman? He was a linguist, a communicator yet inevitable every time he was attracted to a woman he was reduced to the conversational skills of a fifteen year old.

Liz smiled, Daniel was really quite sweet, not to mention extremely attractive. It had been so long since she had truly been attracted to someone that she found the feeling refreshing and welcome even though her life was in a state of upheaval. “About as well as you can in an infirmary I suppose? I have a question, if you don’t mind?” Liz thought about the tablet resting in her bag.

“Sure, go ahead,” Daniel felt better already, questions he could handle.

“I have this tablet, I figured out some of it, but most of it I just can’t…” Liz shrugged “Jack said you did all the translations, so I thought if you had the time?” She trailed off

Daniel quickly became excited here was something he could defiantly do, “Sure I would be happy to help. Is it from…Antar, that was what you called the planet right?” Liz nodded.

“Yes but it isn’t any known written or spoken language there. I found it about a month after we arrived, and even after going through all the oldest know records I couldn’t translate it.”

Daniel watched Liz as they walked, she was graceful and although she was petite her prescience was that of someone much taller. It was the way she watched everyone as the walked she was alert, prepared. It made him think of Teal’c when he first arrived. “I can’t wait,” Daniel said earnestly as he followed Liz and Sam, who had been silent through their entire exchange, into Jack’s office. Jack was frowning now, that was all Daniel could think of. The bad kinda frown that always made him nervous. Jack motioned for all of them to sit before he began.

“Alright, Liz I’ll get right to the point. First off two years ago you and all the others were declared dead. Which in it’s self isn’t all that bad. Since you left though your parents have divorced and your mother has remarried.” Jack watched Liz go pale and truthfully he hated this, cause it was going to get worse. Much worse.

Liz sagged in her chair, “My father?” Liz saw Jack hesitate and she knew, she just knew, “He is dead isn’t he?”

Jack’s eyes went soft, “Yeah he is, I’m sorry Liz. It was a car accident, supposedly he fell asleep returning to Roswell after a convention of some sort.”

“Sir why did we have to be here for this?” Sam was puzzled she couldn’t understand what this had to do with them.

“Because Colonel, I believe that the NID had something to do with his death. Which makes it our concern.”

“Why do you think that?” Daniel’s voice was puzzled he knew Jack would never mention it if he wasn’t sure, but still…

Jack frowned again as he spoke, “There was wounds and bruising that occurred before death that weren’t made during the accident.”

Liz was thrown, “They killed him to get to me didn’t they, they thought I was still here and they killed him to make him talk or draw me out.” Liz stilled, “Truthfully it isn’t anything we hadn’t done on Antar, not that that makes it right.”

Jack, Sam and Daniel all froze as she spoke, “What exactly did you do on Antar?” Jack’s voice was stern and a little cold now.

Liz looked up at him her dark eyes haunted, “It was a civil war, I did what was necessary to survive. Just as you would have.” Her voice was thick as she said this. She refused to look at Sam or Daniel; she didn’t want to know what they thought. She knew that Jack understood she could see it as he continued to stare at her.

“Ok now we need to talk about this,” Jack pulled out the tablet that she had spoke to Daniel about along with the bag that contained a crystal and the small device she was convinced was the granolith key.

Liz jumped forward “Please be careful with those, wait…” Jack had took the device out to look at it more closely. Suddenly it turned a soothing shade of blue. Daniel and Sam both gasped. Liz was reeling “You can turn it on too… but how?”

Jack looked up at her, “What da ya mean too?”

Liz reached out and took it from him; the soothing blue light grew brighter, so bright that they almost had to shield their eyes. “This is what I mean, till now I was the only one to ever be able to turn it on. All the others with us tried. Max, Michael, Isabel everyone but no one could make it work. We thought it was because I was changed when Max healed me, but now…now it seems I was incorrect.”

“Jack do you know what that is?” Daniel reached for the device and Liz silently handed it to him. As he took it the light faded. “Jack,” not waiting for an answer rushed on excitedly, “Look at the writing The Ancients made this Jack, which means they were on Antar at one time.” Jack and Sam looked at Daniel as he spoke, if The Ancients had been there they had left more then this behind. They always did.

Liz was puzzled, “Who are the Ancients?”

Jack snorted, “Sit back down this will take an hour or two,” and he, Sam and Daniel began to who they were.  



	4. Chapter 4

Liz felt as if her head were going to explode. “So the Ancients were the Gate Builders, and they ascended. Which,” Liz looked at Daniel strangely, “Daniel became for a year. Also, the Ancients left an outpost here and you,” She looked at Jack, “used it to defeat Anubis.” Liz sat back she felt drained. There was so much information to absorb.

“There are a few others with the ATA genes,” Daniel began.

“Wait,” Liz stopped him, “What’s the ATA gene?”

“Ancient Technology Activation Gene,” Sam replied. “Basically, the gene is random and it also varies in strength, but it allows any who poses it to use any devices created by the Ancients.”

“Oh, my brain hurts.” Liz chuckled. “I thought my story was huge, but wow.”

Jack smiled, “Now you know how I felt the other day,” his dry amused tone was endearing. Liz could see herself liking him, if they didn’t butt heads all the time or if he took his head out of his ass and told Sam how he felt.

“There are a few people with a strong gene, General O’Neill being one of them. Another is Major John Sheppard. He and Doctor McKay, an expert in Ancient technology, are at the outpost with a group of others trying to discover where the lost city of Atlantis is.” Sam continued. “I would like to test the strength of your gene, then compare it to Major Sheppard’s and the General’s. That is, if you approve it, sir.” Sam looked at Jack, her eyes quickly sliding away.

Jack frowned, for the first time that morning he really _looked_ at Sam. Her face was pale and there was tightness around her eyes he had never seen before. It worried him, and he knew without being told he was part of the reason. It wasn’t rocket science after all. It was all the dancing around the two of them did - the getting closer, then stepping back. He went to check on her last night, but he had, as usual, talked himself out of it. He mentally smacked himself for cowardice. Sighing, Jack turned his attention back to the conversation.

“Yes, I think it is a good idea. Plus, it will give Liz something to do while I get approval for her to leave the base, and while Daniel is holed up in that dusty office of his translating this.”

He picked up the tablet and handed it to his friend. Jack looked at Daniel, Sam, and Liz for a moment, “What are you waiting for? Get outta here! I have phone calls to make, one of which is to Doctor McKay who I know, will be irritating as hell.” Jack picked up his phone with a frown on his face and began to dial. Liz was glad she couldn’t understand the words he was muttering under his breath.

Daniel felt torn as they entered the hallway. He wanted to spend more time with Liz, but he wanted to run off to his office and begin the translation at the same time. He watched Sam give him a small grin as she turned toward the labs and quickly give him a thumbs up sign. He tried not to laugh.

Giving into the urge to be with Liz, Daniel smiled down at her as he spoke “I’ll walk you to the lab,” he gestured toward the hallway Sam had gone down. As Daniel heard Jack begin to yell into the phone, he quickly shut the door. “Jack and McKay always have such interesting conversations.” Liz nodded and began to follow him down the hall.

Liz looked at Daniel for a moment before asking, “If you don’t mind, I have a question?”

Daniel was slightly puzzled, but curiosity, as always, got the better of him. “No, it’s fine, ask away.”

Liz stopped walking for a few moments as she searched for the right words, “Why come back? You were Ascended. Higher planes of existence, more knowledge, weren’t you happy? Why come back here?” Liz waved her hand around to indicate the SGC. “Why leave all that?”

Startled, Daniel frowned as he tried to find the right words, “Um, I didn’t have a choice. There is a strict non-interference rule. I broke the rules when I attacked Anubis, so the other Ancients sent me home.” He pushed up his glasses and slid his hands into his pockets as he resumed walking, “I don’t really remember much about it, anyways.”

Liz was stunned, “You broke the rules? How…” Liz stopped again as someone brushed up against her, her eyes glazed over and she swayed. Shaking it off, she pushed her way back to the present, “Damn I hate this. I can’t wait till my shields are back up to par.” Liz let Daniel steady her and then carefully moved away. Touching him was as dangerous as it was with anyone else. Almost every time she did, she received a small flash, a too intimate window into his life.

“A vision?” Daniel asked attentively. He had figured out the look on her face earlier and the idea fascinated him. Then again, everything about Liz Parker Evans was fascinating. “It was a vision, right?”

Liz looked startled; she knew Daniel was intelligent, she had gleaned that knowledge from Sam’s mind but to be this perceptive...Liz hadn’t expected it. She also knew that she hadn’t been exactly discreet since arriving. During her years on Antar, she had learned there was no need to hide. Her abilities were welcomed and celebrated.

“Yes, it was. I over-extended myself healing Sam, and now, I am paying the price for it. My shields are minimal, and I won’t be able to do anything strenuous power-wise for several days. Without my shields, anyone I touch could trigger a vision.” She was already weary; it wasn’t a physical tiredness, it was mental. She was amazed at the strain involved in avoiding contact as much as possible.

Daniel watched her as they walked. He didn’t know how he had missed it before. There was an almost visible flinch as she walked passed people in the halls. He decided he didn’t want to know what she was seeing. “So back to your question, I tried to fight Anubis and the Ancients have a policy of non-interference. I was put back into corporeal form and sent down. I awoke with no memories. I didn’t even know my own name.” Daniel restrained a chuckle at the memory of calling Jack, Jim. It had really bothered his friend. “I have most of my memories back now. There’s still the occasional gap, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Liz was almost envious; she would have given anything to forget her life. The lie she had lived, the people she had killed. It was eating away at her, she knew it had been war, but it was still blood on her hands and no one else’s. It didn’t matter if she had killed them herself or ordered it, she was still guilty. “So that was what you meant with the dying comments last night.”

Daniel, embarrassed, ducked his head and blushed as they entered the lab “Yeah, its kinda become a joke around here. _What Daniel died? Again?_ it happens too often. My New Year’s resolution was not to die this year.”

“And I hope that you stick to that, Daniel. I am getting sick of waiting for you to pop up alive somewhere.” Sam smiled as they walked in, “So Liz, which arm do you prefer?”

***

Jack wanted nothing more then to slam his phone against the wall. He had no idea how General Hammond had dealt with the stress. The man had handled bringing Daniel back from the dead with ease, where as Jack wanted to shoot something. Badly. He sighed he decided to call Major Davis he was good at the schmoozing and he owed Jack. Paul had a thing for Kerry and when Jack dumped her, she fell right into Paul’s arms, making him a very happy man. Oh yeah, he owed Jack. The phone rang again before he had a chance to dial out, “Yeah?”

“General, sir, Major Sheppard and Doctor McKay have arrived.”

“Thank you, airman,” Jack hung up and reached for his massive bottle of Tylenol. His day just got worse. Jack wondered if retirement was an option as he downed four Tylenol.

***

Nicholas had his scientists ripping apart the dialing device on the gate. Pacing restlessly, he worried. He knew that some how there had to be way to find out where Parker was. He wanted to get her and get home. His life hinged on his ability to find her, and he was very fond of living. He would stop at nothing to find her and bring her back.

“Sir, we have it!” A short pudgy man waved him over as he shouted, “We know where she went!”

Nicholas smiled, “Good! Prepare your equipment. As soon as you have the device ready for dialling, we leave.” Turning to go give Khivar the news, Nicholas couldn’t help but smile. This was going to be easier then he thought. Much, much easier.

 

 

Liz heard them before she saw them. She looked toward Daniel and Sam who were suddenly appeared very busy and looked at everything but her and the door.

“Really, General, I am a very busy man. I don’t see how you can justify wasting my time and efforts, not to mention valuable research time with Major Sheppard, to drag me here. Really some ‘not quite alien’ girl can make things glow. After all the Major can too, quite well in fact. I…”

The snarky voice was cut off “Rodney, it wasn’t like we didn’t need the break. Come on think of it as a little vacation. We got to fly, we got fed, and we are staying over night.”

There was an exasperated sigh, “Major you have a very skewed sense of fun,” Liz saw them enter the room and the sarcastic one was waving his hands about.

“Says the man who likes MRE’s and Power bars.” The tall dark haired man replied jauntily while smiling. His green eyes sparkled like he was enjoying the barbs. Liz looked to Jack as he walked with the others and saw he, like Sam and Daniel were desperately trying not to laugh. The man looked toward her, “Hi,” his smile was so genuine and lethal, “I am Major John Sheppard, and the frowning, grumpy one here is Dr. Rodney McKay. Just ignore his attitude, he has bad digestion so it makes him snotty.”

Rodney sputtered “You didn’t, Oh I can’t…” he looked at John with an expression that Liz was sure would make a lesser man cower.

John reached out to shake her hand and without thinking she took it, as his skin touched hers she flinched and stepped back. “Sorry,” Liz stumbled back as she spoke, “I ah…I shouldn’t have done that.”

John looked confused, “Why?”

Daniel rushed to support Liz as she sagged against the table, “Vision?” he asked quietly as she rubbed her temples.

Rodney looked intrigued, “Visions, she has visions…” his voice trailed off in almost a squeak, as he looked frantically toward John, who was frowning.

Sam looked at Rodney who seemed ready to go into a full-blown panic attack as John put his hand on the man’s shoulders and ordered “Breathe, you have to breathe.” Sam saw the look that passed between the two men and knew she would never have to worry about McKay hitting on her again.

Jack saw the same look and grunted; well at least McKay was on some sort of leash now. He could help but grin though here he thought Sheppard was a smart man. Shaking his head, he turned back to Liz and Daniel, who was entirely too concerned and hey hands…yep that was a talk they would need to have soon.

Liz found if she focused on Daniel’s touch it was easier to shake the dregs of the vision off. He was rubbing her back in soft circles and she felt the warmth of his body seeping into hers. She hated this weakness and more then anything she hated Max for changing her and making her something she should have never been. “It’s alright, I just saw Major Sheppard doing some rather heroic looking things. If they were from his past or future I can’t tell. I am fairly sure it is the future so you might want to avoid killing the chick with blue skin.” Liz tried to laugh but she was suddenly feeling as if she were in over her head and sinking fast.

Daniel frowned at the way Liz was still trembling and how cold her skin was. If this was the cost of her power it wasn’t worth it no matter what she could do. Jack interrupted his train of thought, “So, then can we get on with this? I have General type duties to attend too. Plus someone,” Jack glared at Rodney, “only agreed to come if he could take his cat back with him.”

Rodney grinned and rocked back on his heels, “Well of course, we need to get this over with I am a busy man too.” Liz couldn’t help but like the man, he was just indescribable and his grin was catching.

“So how are we doing this? I don’t understand how we are going to test the strength of a gene.” Liz loved science and it was apparent to all that she was excited by the thought of these tests, as long as it didn’t involve her blood.

“There are all these shiny things we get to turn and try to turn on,” John said excitedly too. He had to admit they way the gadgets responded to him was the coolest thing ever.

“Yes to put in the, simplest terms, yes that is what you will be doing.” Rodney frowned at John, who just gave him that irrepressible smile and walked over to the table.

“So let’s do this,” Jack was getting irritated; he did not like being a guinea pig and wanted it over, yesterday.

**  
Jack frowned at his paper work; he hated it more then just about anything. He looked at the seemingly never-ending pile of files and sighed. He wanted his gun back and he wanted his team back. He was trapped here though and by his own choice, because if he didn’t do it who would? Jack looked down at Sam’s latest report and swore. He’d had it he was going to find her tell her everything. He only hoped it wasn’t too late.

He headed toward the door as he heard a soft knock. Shit. Opening the door he saw Liz standing there with her arms wrapped around her middle looking all of twelve years old. Which he knew she wasn’t.

Liz saw Jack’s frown “Is this a bad time? I can come back tomorrow it you like.”

Puzzled Jack couldn’t figure out why she suddenly sounded so timid and small. “No it is alright. Come in take a load off, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Liz smiled, she really like this man. He, in a weird way, reminded her of her father. Not that they were that much alike, it was just how safe he made her feel, it was so similar. “I wanted to talk to you about a few things, I just hope…” Liz sat and fingered her hair. “I want to talk to you about Sam, why I healed her and how things are between the two of you. I also need to tell you what is going on with her before it is to late.”

Jack sat back expelling a hard breath, this was the last thing he had expected. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but if she had the stones to come to him like this then he had them to listen. “I have one question before you start?” Liz nodded and Jack swore she took ‘how to look innocent’ lesson’s from Daniel. “What makes you think you know anything about Sam?’

Liz looked him straight in the eye, “Because when I healed her I saw everything. Her past, present and two different futures. One with you as a couple and in the other, the one where she is alone, she dies and it happens soon.”

Jack paled, “What do you mean two futures? How can…you know never mind I was never great with the whole linear timeline thing. Just spill what you know and tell me what I need to do to keep her alive.”

Jack was startled by the calculating look that suddenly appeared on Liz’s face, “I was hoping you would say that.”  



	5. Chapter 5

Nicholas stood in front of his master. He tried with all the strength he possessed not to flinch or cower under Khivar’s piercing gaze and the weight of his dissatisfaction. “My lord, we went to the address we recovered from the dialing device and learned the former queen had returned to Earth. I am sorry my lord, but you know we can’t go there. Not through a gate anyways.”

Khivar swore in frustration, “What do you mean she went back to Earth? Have you any clue how hard it will be to get to her there now that those simpletons have learned ‘aliens’ as they so tritely put it, exist?” Khivar took a deep shuddering breath, anger coursed through him. He wanted nothing more then to reach out and strike Nicholas until he heard the man’s bones crunch under his blows. He craved the sight of Nicholas’ blood on his hands.

But it wouldn’t do to destroy the man in a fit of rage, not right now when he could still be of use. Closing his eyes momentarily he pictured a planet he ruled, a galaxy that bowed to him and only him. He pictured that goal he was working toward and refused to be thwarted. “We need to find away to lure her to us. I am sure I know the one thing that will have her come running for two simple reasons; first, because she will want to know if it is true, second, once she knows it is the truth she will stop at nothing to rescue my pretty toy.”

Khivar turned and walked toward the dais, the petite blonde in question sat at the foot of his throne. Her long golden hair spilled over her back and her green eyes glittered with the love he had created in her. Mind warping was such a lovely talent. Khivar stroked her hair and she leaned into his touch, “Yes, Liz will stop at nothing to rescue you, my dear, Maria. She may think you died, but she will soon know otherwise. Soon she will come to me, and everything I have ever wanted will be firmly within my grasp.”

“Nicholas, get word to those peasants on Earth. If Elizabeth Parker went back to Earth she is with them. Let her know her childhood friend is alive and under my control.” Nicholas nodded and quickly left the room. He didn’t want to watch Khivar sitting and stroking his mistress’ burgeoning stomach.

~*~  
“You know that looks like a garage door opener to me. A huge one, but one nonetheless.” John walked around the room poking and fingering things as he spoke. Sam and Rodney were having geekgasums over the device Liz had brought with her. Not to mention the test results they had acquired from him, Liz, and the general. The look in Sam and Rodney’s eyes had almost frightened him.

“Oh yes, Major, I am sure that is exactly what it is. Because we all know how fond the Ancient’s were of their cars.” Rodney never looked up as he spoke, so he missed the twitching of Sam’s mouth as she tried not to laugh. She had to admit, now that he wasn’t hitting on her, he was funny. It was strange, other then the ‘I am smarter then you’ attitude his well developed sense of sarcasm was as sharp as Jack’s. Which was why they couldn’t be in the same room together for more then five minutes at a time.

John just grinned and ignored Rodney’s derogatory tone and snide remark. “You know I heard they had lemon meringue pie in the commissary.” John tried not to laugh at the look on Rodney’s face as his eye’s shot up to bore into his own. “So I think I’ll just go eat a piece or two. You wouldn’t want any would you Sam?” Sam shook her head no and couldn’t help but snicker out loud this time. This man definitely knew how to deal with McKay.

“Rodney? How about you?” John said seeing Rodney’s mouth was pursed into a disapproving frown.

“No, Major, I wouldn’t, and thank you so much for implying you want me to die. Hello! Citrus allergy!” Rodney turned his back on John muttering under his breath as he did. John ignored his remarks once again, then put his hands in his pockets and whistled a jaunty tune as he left the room.

Rodney watched him walk out of the room while frowning, that man was going to be the death of him. The more time he spent with John, the more he was convinced of it.

~*~  
Daniel pored over several texts and his notes trying to decipher the tablet Liz had brought. It was Ancient, yet the wording was strange. It was almost as if it were a riddle, a code might be another explanation he mused to himself as he scribbled down something else. He had to admit that he was distracted. Even with this puzzle sitting before him he thought about her. He had never had this happen. His work had always consumed him, causing him to block out even the need for sleep and food.

More often then not he would lock himself away and at some point Jack would come to drag him down to eat or force him to go home and sleep. Daniel frowned, Jack and he were going to have a talk soon, he had seen the looks Jack had shot at him in the lab. Daniel knew Jack was concerned, hell, he was too. He had never fallen this hard or fast before, and Hathor didn’t count.

Daniel couldn’t explain his instant attraction to Liz, or why he just knew from the moment he saw her she was what he had been waiting for. Jack might not understand, how could he when Daniel couldn’t understand it himself? He just knew that Liz was his future.

 

~*~  
Jack sat and listened intently as Liz spoke. Her words had struck a type of desperation in his heart he hadn’t known in years.

“Sam is fracturing, her sprit is fragile right now, and it has a lot to do with the emotional stress she has been under. Eight years of maybe, maybe not have finally gotten to her. Soon she will make a choice, and that choice will decide if she lives or dies.”

Liz was solemn and her confidence was such that Jack knew what she spoke was the truth. The thought that he might lose Sam forever had him going pale. He had hated it every time she was hurt, but he hadn’t had the courage to go to her. He had always comforted himself with the knowledge that there was time. Now, though, there was no more time. He had to act and that thought frightened him. He was no coward, never that. He had faced death, torture, being stranded on an alien world. Hell, he had faced down Ba’al, who tortured him to death and tossed him in a sarcophagus to resurrect him just to do it all over again. He could handle that, but talking about his feelings…that was a whole other ball game.

“Jack, you need to make a choice too. You need to decide if you are going to tell her you love her. That you want to be with her. Because that is her turning point in both futures. If you and she work everything out she lives, but without you Sam loses her focus and dies. She needs you to help her resolve the emotional upheaval she is in. There have been too many losses, and it has begun to weigh on her.

Jack sighed; he loved Sam so there were really no options here. “I’ll talk to her, but you and I need to have a talk about Daniel.”

Liz nodded, “Sir, I was wondering if…if there was a way to talk to my friend's families. To maybe call or visit them? I really need to let them know…” Her voice trailed off again.

Jack felt her pain; there was nothing worse then delivering news like the death of a love one. “I’ll see what I can do, and …ah..if you need to talk…”

Liz smiled warmly, “Thank you Jack, but some how you and I sitting and talking about our feelings isn’t high on either of our list of priorities. I have done this before; it is just…well, I knew Maria and Kyle since almost birth. The others since I was a teen which, age wise wasn’t that long ago, but it seems a life time away now.” Liz stood as she spoke, laying her hand on Jack’s arm and giving it a soft squeeze. “If it is an issue though, I won’t be afraid to ask.”

Jack nodded and felt his heart swelling with affection for this girl, no make that young woman, he hardly knew. He could suddenly see the appeal she held for Daniel. He couldn’t help but feeling, though, that no girl should have to live through or do the things he was sure Liz had to do. He recognized the weight of the pain she carried. Her eyes shown with, and like always recognizes like. So looking at Liz was like looking in a mirror.

Liz watched the flat desert fly by through her window. The occasional outcropping of almost familiar red rocks broke the monotony. Her thoughts were crowded with all that had happened over the last three days. She had spent most of her time with Jack; they had talked about Sam, and the NID. The investigation into her father’s death had hit a wall and was now at a dead stop. In a voice that brooked no questions, Jack stated that he was going to get the answers _no matter what_. Liz still found it strange that she trusted him, all of them. She felt more at home in the SGC now then she had in the three years she lived on Antar.

She smiled as she remembered Jack sitting her down and telling her, in no uncertain terms, that as much as he liked her if she hurt Daniel in anyway, shape or form he would shoot her and they would [i]never[/i] find her body. She had shivered as he spoke because she knew he meant it with every fiber of his being. Liz also knew that she would have done the same if the situation were reversed. She and Jack were more alike then they both cared to admit.

Major John Sheppard was also a kindred soul. The three of them had a wonderful laugh at some of the newer recruit’s expense. Liz wanted to train, and Jack had come up with a plan; which is how Liz had found herself tossing several Marines and two Air Force sergeants around the gym. Jack and John had lounged against the wall in very similar poses as she went to work. The men had underestimated her which, is exactly what Jack had said would happen as Liz cleaned their clocks. Afterwards she and John got to watch Jack do the General thing as he dressed the men down and gave them shit duties for a week. The three of them had walked to the commissary laughing like loons.

Yesterday she had said goodbye to her two newest friends, and, yes, even as abrasive as Rodney was she considered him a friend. He truly was one of the sweetest, dorkiest man she knew. Whenever she saw him and John bickering it made her think of Kyle and Michael during happier times. Before he leftRodney had hugged her and told her to seriously consider joining the Atlantis mission.

After three wonderful and relatively carefree days she was going home.

_Home_

She was going back to Roswell after four years to tell Amy, Jim and the Evan’s that their children were gone. That she alone survived. Liz wanted to visit her father’s grave and tell him goodbye, something she hadn’t really ever been able to do.

Liz turned toward Daniel as she felt his larger hand cover her own. He was solid and warm. He was offering himself up as a buffer, for no reason other then he wanted to. He _wanted_ to be there for her. It was almost foreign to her, having someone to rely on; someone to trust in.

Worry shadowed his blue eyes and that, in turn, made her feel bad. She knew what to expect, Liz knew that she would face accusations and tears. She knew that in the end coming home would be a lot worse then if she didn't go at all. Daniel had no clue and there was no way to warn him. She couldn’t begin to explain how tight of a group they had been, how scared and so very young they had all been.

“They were everything for so long, and I know they are dead. I _know_ it. I watched them die. This, going home, is almost harder then that.” Her voice sounded fragile even to her own ears and Liz hated how weak it made her feel.

Daniel squeezed her hand tightly, “I knew Shar’e was gone the minute she was made a host. I knew it with the certainty you know your friends are dead. It just took me years to admit it. I never stopped trying and searching, but I knew I had lost her even before she died. This is the final step in letting go, but the first in moving away from your past and staring over.”

Liz took in what he said, let it settle into her and take root. He was right; this was both the first and last step. Maybe that is what frightened her so much. She had never been good at letting go and moving on. Even with all the death and destruction she had seen it was a lesson she hadn’t been able to hold onto. Liz leaned her head back and watched him drive for a moment. “You are right, but then I am sure you knew that.” She smiled softly as she spoke, “I’ll never really be able to let go of Max, you know that right? Every breath I take, every time I use my powers. It is all tied to him on every possible level. Sometimes,” Liz paused as she searched for the right words. “Sometimes it feels almost as if he is still here, living inside me.”

“Well then that is something we will have to figure out, isn’t it?” Daniel was calm, he couldn’t begin to understand Liz’s powers or what she had been through, he wanted to though. More then he could begin to express even if he wanted to.

~*~  
Jack paced around his office; he knew what he wanted to do. Hell, he had even talked about it, which was a first. Liz made it easy though, and she had been firm too. Funny how a twenty something slip of a girl could get him to do what he always wanted to do. What his friends had been encouraging him to do for years. He didn’t want to lose Sam. _Not ever_. He loved the SGC, and the work he did here. Sure he had used it as an excuse. He would admit he was afraid, but only to himself. He had failed Sara; he had lost her the second Charlie died. He had shut her out and closed himself off. Daniel had been the first person to get to him. He had refused to back away and had offered his friendship so generously that Jack hadn’t been able to walk away.

Sam had been easy to hide from, there were the regulations and she was his 2IC. So even if he had wanted to go against the regs, he wouldn’t start anything with his second in command. He couldn’t, because he wasn’t sure he would have been able to choose between her and the missions. It had been hard enough to almost lose Daniel so many times.

Jack took a steadying breath and headed toward Sam’s office. No more running. No more hiding. Not this time.

~*~  
Daniel watched Liz carefully from the corner of his eye as he drove down Main Street. Her face was pale and her hand was trembling beneath his. He watched a slow solitary tear steak a jagged path down her cheek. He desperately wanted to hold her and kiss away all the sorrow she was feeling.

“There, just pull up in front.” Her voice was tense and small as she spoke. He watched her take a small steadying breath before she opened the car door.

“You know we could go find a hotel if you want. We don’t need to come back here till tomorrow.” Daniel knew she wouldn’t accept that offer. Even in the short amount of time he had known her he knew she would never back down. She would push her way through what ever the problem or issue was. Liz was a fighter.

“No, but somehow I think you knew I was going to say that. Didn’t you?” Liz smiled softly, it was weak but the fact that she had made the effort warmed Daniel’s heart.

Daniel got out of the car and walked around to open her door. “Yeah, I did. It never hurts to ask thought does it?”

“No it doesn’t,” Liz took the hand he offered and got out of the car. She held onto it tightly as he closed the car door and went to walk in to The CrashDown.  



	6. Chapter 6

Liz, once again, felt grounded by Daniel’s touch. His hand was heavy, solid and engulfed hers. She focused on that as they walked in. She tried, oh god she tried, not to see Max, Michael and Isabel laughing as they sipped cherry cokes in their booth. She tried not to see Maria flirting with Michael as she gave him her orders, or Michael and Kyle laughing at the numerous dirty jokes that they had loved so much. She could still hear his quotes echoing in her head. She could see Max and, oh, it hurt to think of him and how in love the two of them had been with each other.

Every corner of the restaurant had memories clinging to it. Good, bad, ugly. It didn’t matter; they all assailed her mind at once clamoring for attention. She staggered under the weight of them and winced out loud. Liz turned and looked Daniel in the eye. She could see the concern there as he reached out to steady her.

“I’m all right.” Liz stood and took another step forward. Her childhood laid here, her innocent adolescent dreams. It clung to the air. She moved to the counter and saw the spot where it all began, the place where she had been shot., Max healing her and in that moment irrevocably changing her life forever. She could feel the cold floor and the gut wrenching pain like it was happening right now.

She took a step closer to Daniel and gestured to the spot, “Right there is where my life changed.” She snorted as she continued, “Right there I died and became something else.” Liz felt movement around her but it was a distant echo because all she could see was the floor. All she could feel was Daniel’s hand on the small of her back in gentle support and the pain of everything she had lost.

“Let’s go find your mother, all right?” Daniel asked softly.

Liz nodded and looked at the tall dark haired man behind the counter. She didn’t recognize him, but then she hadn’t expected to either.

“I am looking for Nancy Parker, is she here today?” Liz’s stomach clenched and burned as she spoke her mother’s name. It had always been more difficult with her mother, harder for them to connect. Liz had always been a daddy’s girl so to speak. Her father had been the one she would go to when she wanted to talk, until Max. After that she and her father drifted apart, and her mother became almost a stranger.

The man stopped wiping down the counter and stared at her for a moment, his face paled and he stepped closer. “Liz?” his voice questioning. “You’re Liz, aren’t you?”

Liz almost took a step back, “Yes, yes, I am but I don’t think I know you.” She kept her voice firm and steady refusing to let the fear and nervousness she felt show.

The man looked away and shuffled his feet for a moment before looking back at her.

“Well you wouldn’t, my name is Nathan, Nate. I married your mom almost two years ago now. But I thought you were dead, in fact, everyone does.” His tone had suddenly changed, and accusation dripped off of every word.

“Look, Nate, I don’t have a lot of time and you have no right to censor me, you know nothing about me. So is my mother here or not?” Liz’s tone was harsh and low, so harsh that it even startled Daniel.

Nate gave her a dirty look, “Yeah, she is upstairs; let me get Marco to cover the counter.”

Liz walked past him, Daniel’s hand in hers, “Don’t bother I know the way and you aren’t invited. I haven’t seen her in four years and I don’t intend to have a stranger there with me when I do.” She pushed the door to the break room open as he protested and than continued up the stairs.

She paused at the top for a moment taking a deep breath she looked at Daniel, “Are you ready?” Daniel had a bit of a shocked expression on his face but nodded.

“I am with you every step of the way, Liz, you lead I’ll follow.”

~*~  
Jack watched Sam for a moment before he stepped in to her cluttered, but, oh so neat office. He watched the way the light played across her features, he wondered for a moment why she didn’t need glasses because her office never seemed bright enough. He watched her, oblivious to his presence, typing and muttering. She was brilliant, sexy and he had been in love with her, what seemed like forever, well nine years. In a job like this, though, nine years was a lifetime.

He stepped into the room and Sam had yet to look up, so he cleared his throat as he stepped closer.

“Sir,” Sam sat up with a start, her blue eyes wide and her cheeks now flushed.

“Do you know what time it is Colonel?” He watched Sam glance down at her watch and smiled brightly.

“Sir, it is barely 1800 hours, I am generally here much later than that.” Sam turned back to her computer for a moment and typed something else in before shutting it down. “I could do with an early night, though.”

“Good, so how about we head over to O’Malley’s for a nice steak?” Jack kept it causal, his hands in his pockets and leaning against the door.

Sam looked startled for a moment, “Sir?”

Jack straitened up and made a sweeping gesture toward the door, “Come on, Carter, live a little. Come have dinner with me, we can talk about…Well, I don’t know but, hey, it is better then me stuck behind that desk with a mile high stack of papers and you sitting in here. Speaking of which, why is it always so dark in here?”

Sighing, Sam stepped out into the hall “Are we even allowed in there yet? I mean after that…”

Jack cut her off, that mischievous smile firmly in place, “Perks of being a General. They are afraid to kick me out now.” Sam laughed and shook her head as she followed him down the hall. He had got her out of the office, without to much fuss. Step one was complete, now on to step two, the _talk_. Jack stepped into the elevator and suddenly he wasn’t sure if he was even going to be able to eat, not with his stomach clenching and bouncing around with nervousness like he hadn’t felt since he had asked a girl out for the first time.

 

~*~  
Liz opened the door to the apartment where she had grown up. It looked remarkably the same, furniture, pictures nothing had changed. Except her, and the fact she wouldn’t see her father. She could picture him sitting on the couch laughing, his head back and his face covered in a huge smile. One she wouldn’t see again. She regretted, and not for the first time, listening to Max about not contacting their families before they left.

Firmly holding on to Daniels hand still she walked toward the kitchen, she could hear her mother humming as she cooked. She turned to look at Daniel, “Could you, I mean...”

Daniel smiled, understanding, that he freely offered and she knew she had no right to, filled his eyes, “I’ll wait here till you need me, all right?”

Without thinking Liz leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, pulling back she smiled and headed into the kitchen, leaving stunned the archeologist behind.

Liz walked into the room silently, very aware of how different she looked, not to mention how different she was. She watched her mother washing something in the sink and noticed her hair was shorter, and a bit lighter. She took a deep breath and braced herself for whatever reaction her mother gave her.

“Mom,” Liz said hesitantly, she watched her mother’s body go ridged and drop whatever was in her hands. Her mother took a deep breath too, her hands shaking as she gripped the sink. “Mom?”

Liz watched Nancy turn toward her, her mother’s eyes wide and filled with tears. She leaned back against the sink, shaking, “Lizzie?” She took a step forward, “Oh, god, Liz.” Suddenly Liz was wrapped in her mother’s arms, she could smell the soft scent of peaches that she always associated with her mother and felt her mother’s tears soaking through her shirt. Something broke, a wall collapsed and Liz couldn’t hold it back any longer. She felt her knees give way and she sunk to the floor sobbing. She hadn’t allowed herself to, not since Isabel and Kyle died. Rocking back and forth they offered the comfort that only a mother and daughter could give each other.

~*~  
Daniel sat on the couch; waiting and then he heard it, crying. He felt a weight lift off of him, he knew, because he had seen, that she hadn’t cried in a long time. He knew he would have to tell her what he had seen, her watching a man with shoulder length brown hair dying in her arms, Michael, was the name she had whispered. Michael, with blood pouring from his mouth as he spoke, had touched her face and told her he loved her. She had smiled, ‘Not as much as you loved Maria'. He had shuddered and told her, with his last breath, everything would work out. Liz had sat there rocking his body in her arms, tearless, till a tall dark hair girl had dragged her away. Daniel didn’t know how to tell her which, as a linguist was a very bad thing. He just knew it would have to be soon.

He heard a noise and quickly turned, but it was only Nate. The other man paused and sat down, “Well, I guess they are going to all right.” Daniel could see the relief in his eyes and hear it in his voice as he said it.

“Yeah, I think they will be.”  



	7. Chapter 7

Daniel watched Liz as she stood outside; she was staring at the sun as it cast a fiery glow along the skyline, her face was bathed in it’s light and she had never looked more stunning. He moved behind her and placed a tentative hand on her waist. He moved in closer and felt her hair brush against his chin he couldn’t believe how small she was. Her personality, her presence, made her seem so much taller. He could feel her pain, even as still as she stood it vibrated and echoed off her.

“Liz?” She turned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. As she rested her head against his chest her tears soaked into his shirt, instinctively he tightened his embrace, drawing her even closer. “Liz, I am sorry. It isn’t enough I know, but I am sorry.” He felt her shudder silently and desperately wanted to erase her pain. His mere presence when the others had shown up was a huge part of why it had gone badly.

Liz sighed, “It wasn’t your fault, and there was nothing that you could have said or done to make it any better.” She stepped back and looked into his eyes, “I wouldn’t change it because I needed you there. I wanted you there, and what Philip and Diane said doesn’t matter. They have lost everything.” Daniel watched the shadows darken and dance across her face as she stepped back again. “They lost everything and I… I still have a chance at a life. One that doesn’t include their son and that hurts them as much as the fact that he and Isabel are dead.” Daniel felt her sorrow; it crawled inside him and took root. He felt it as though it were his own; he wondered if when he saw part of her life something else had remained.

Liz turned and looked up at the stars slowly coming to life, even as the sun was still setting. “Do you ever just look out there anymore? Just look and enjoy the stars with the innocence that you did before you knew what was out there?”

Her question startled him, “No, no, not really. That is more Jack’s thing. He loves Astronomy. He has a part of his roof set up with a telescope and stares at them for hours.” Daniel chuckled, “When I stayed with him he would drag me out there no matter how cold it was.”

“Jack is, well, Jack.” Liz smiled at him as she spoke, it was almost wistful, “I really like him. He seems so gruff but…”

“Jack always comes off that way, but he isn’t really.” Daniel shrugged, “He is the best guy I know, and he is my best friend. We fight and bicker but,” Daniel trailed off. He always had a hard time explaining how much Jack meant to him, how close they were and how empty he would be if something happened to the older man.

“You’re family. That was what Isabel, Kyle, Michael, Maria, Max and I were. Three couples, all bound by blood and more. Today I let that go, when Amy and Jim walked into the room and saw me alone they knew. I have known them my entire life and I watched their hearts break.” Liz covered her face with her hands and let out a broken sounding sob. “I broke them, killed their hope.” Daniel rushed to her and pulled her tightly to him again.

“Shh, no you didn’t, you gave them closure. They needed to know, and I saw for myself that Amy and Jim were as happy to see you even as they were sad to lose their own children; they were happy you are alive. They both love you, like you said you’re family.” He rubbed a comforting hand up and down her back, doing his best to soothe her. “Come on, it has been a long day and you need to get some sleep.” He took her hand and led her to her room. “Get some rest, and I’ll be next door if you need me, alright?” Daniel brushed her hair from her face, she looked so young and vulnerable, and it hit him exactly how young she was compared to him. She was just twenty-two, but had lived through enough and seemed much, much older. It made it easy for him to forget, but he also knew that her small hands were encircling his heart with frightening speed. Daniel pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, “Goodnight,” and walked to his room.

~*~  
Jack looked at Sam carefully; she seemed so on edge, so wary. It hurt to know that is was all his fault that he had pushed her until she wasn’t sure what to expect for him anymore. He hated the stilted, halting conversation that took place over diner, and searched for clever words to fill the silence and express how he felt.

“Ok, look, I suck at this, which, I am sure you are well aware.” He watched Sam’s blue eye’s widen at his suddenly abrupt tone, “I just, well, I hate talking about…stuff.” Jack waved his hands around, visibly irritated, he couldn’t find the words he wanted, he needed to make her understand, he just hated that is was so hard.

“Sir,” Jack frowned as she said that but she quickly corrected herself and hesitantly said, “Jack, I am not sure if I get what you are trying to say.” Her voice was laced with confusion.

“Neither am I, most of the time. Look, Sam, you almost died the other day, again. I don’t think I can, no I know I have to tell you this.” Jack felt his hands shake and sweat broke out on his forehead, he hadn’t said this to a woman since Sara, “I love you, I have for awhile but…well, ah hell, Sam, I just didn’t know what to say. It just got easy to avoid it and wait. I don’t want you to think it wasn’t because we weren’t worth fighting for.” He ran a frustrated hand over his face. He was afraid to look at her, afraid Liz had been wrong about how she felt but when Sam’s cool, much smaller hand covered his own he knew. Her eyes were overly bright and her smile fragile. “I know I should have said something along time ago, but you were my second and by the time I made General I wasn’t sure…”

“Jack, it is alright.” Her voice shook as she spoke, “I love you too. I…” Sam hesitated shyly for a moment, “It was why I couldn’t marry Pete. I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him.” Jack’s stomach bottomed out, once again, as she said that.

“So, ah, do you love me, or are you in love with me?” Jack’s mouth was so dry he was surprised could even speak.

Sam looked him in the eye, her gaze steady and solid, and there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation, “I am in love with you, and have been for a very long time.”

Jack couldn’t think of a single thing to say when she finished except, “Sweet.”

 

 

~*~  
 _Liz was in the palace. The long cold hallway in front of her was silent, the only sound was her footsteps and breathing. Liz knew she was dreaming; she knew she couldn’t be here and that her body was lying back on Earth in a sterile looking motel room in Roswell. She knew that, but she also knew she was here for a reason. She was being given a dream, a rare and prized talent. It was, when possessed by the right person, a gift used to heal the mind but in the hands of the wrong person it could be a powerful weapon. She had a small glimmer of that gift; it was weak and one of the most difficult of her powers to use. There was only one other person that she knew of, who possessed it. Only one, who could send a dream to a planet light years away. Nicholas, Khivar’s right hand man, his iron fist and mouthpiece._

Liz looked down and saw she was dressed in a long cream-colored court gown, one that she had worn at her wedding and the funerals of her husband and friend’s. She moved forward, wary and unsure of what to expect. She reached the door to the throne room and hesitated for only a moment before opening it.

The large room was all but empty; three people were on the dais. One on the throne, was obviously Khivar, Nicholas was standing to his right and the third was a woman sitting at Khivar’s feet. Liz couldn’t tell who it was because her back was facing the door she had just entered.

“Ah, Elizabeth, How nice of you to join us.” Khivar’s voice rang out through the room and bounced off the nearly empty walls.

Liz walked forward; if they were going to attack her it would have happened by now. “Well it wasn’t as if your lackey has given me a choice.” Liz’s tone condescending, after all she was the Queen. By the right of marriage and the seal she still wore on her shoulder. Even after Max had died it hadn’t left, and Michael’s, when it appeared was different than hers. She could have held the throne, had she chosen too, but Michael was the warrior, the tactician and he was what was needed whether he wanted that role or not. Khivar, for all his power was nothing more than a pretender and a poser.

“Oh, but my dear, there are always choices. For instance I made the wrong choice when I let you leave, because you took something that belonged to me. I am going to be fair because I am nothing if not fair, and offer you a trade.” His voice was low and had she not known his true nature it would have been easy to fall under its seductive power.

Liz stopped; she was twenty feet from the dais now and found herself unable to move forward. Nicholas was a smart man; he knew that even with her limited gift if she were allowed close enough she could turn the dream against him. He had stretched his mind out further than anyone had ever reached out before and the strain had to be immense. “Khivar, I can not, in all honesty, think of one thing you possess that I want.” She laughed as she said it, but her laugh froze in her throat as the woman at Khivar’s feet turned around. “Maria?” She tried to step forward, only to be shocked by the shield in place.

Khivar stood and petted Maria’s long blonde hair, “Yes, isn’t my pet beautiful.” He squatted down beside her and stroked her swollen stomach as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “And look she bears my heir.” Khivar looked toward Liz, “Are you quite certain I have nothing you want?”

Furry coursed through her, “How dare you take a member of my court as a prisoner and consort? How did you manage it? She was dead!”

“If you remember correctly, my dear deposed queen, the body of your friend was never recovered, and when you finally found remains you thought they were hers but they were, in fact, not because she was already firmly in my grasp by that time. Her husband, her friends, her loyalties were all long forgotten. She knew only me.”

Liz struck out at the shield barring her from the vengeance she wanted, it held even though she saw Nicholas flinch. “You are the vilest creature I have ever known, and I have met many who qualify for that position. What do you want?” Liz spat out her words, her eyes flashing with power and rage.

“For shame, Elizabeth, I had expected better of you then this.” Liz could see the look of joy on his face and the gloating tone he used on served to enrage her more. “I want the keys to the Granolith.”

Liz laughed, “You are mistaken if you think that you will ever be able to use them, even if I were to make that trade..”

Khivar laughed, “Oh but I can, my dear, I can.”

Liz stood tall, her shoulders straight and her head held high, “You **will** die by my hands, make no mistake. You have greatly underestimated me and that will be your downfall. I am going to come for you Khivar, you have violated whatever grace I still possessed. I never welcomed my powers as Queen of this planet. I **will** now and once I do you will find me a formidable foe, because you lack the royal seal and the blood required to will the true powers of a King. I will be your downfall; my face will be the last thing you ever see.” Liz closed her eyes, as she finished speaking Khivar flew in to a furious rage, Liz ignored the shouts and venomous slurs as she pulled herself out of the dream.

Liz sat up, her body shaking and cold, despite the rage that infused her. She had a despot to kill, a Granolith to protect and a world to reclaim.


	8. Chapter 8

Daniel woke to silence, he was used to the stillness of the desert it had been his home and in many ways always would be. He was born in Egypt, some of his best memories were from his first eight years there, and still even after all this time he missed the large expanses of sand. New Mexico wasn’t Egypt, it wasn’t even Abydos, but it was similar in small ways, which were just enough to cause a small ache of homesickness.

Glancing at his watch Daniel noted how early it was and dressed quickly. He felt the first twinge of caffeine lust rise in him and decided breakfast was in order. Daniel listened for a moment than smiled when he heard nothing coming from Liz’s room, She needed the rest, especially after the emotionally draining day she’d had and decided to bring breakfast back so they could eat it together. He snagged his keys and headed toward the door only to have a white sheet of paper they were sitting on drift down to the floor. Puzzled, he picked it up, and read….

_Daniel,_

_Sorry for sneaking in to leave this, but I didn’t want you to worry. And I knew you would. I woke early and decided to head out to the desert for some ‘exercise’, the kind I couldn’t do here. I am leaving you directions I would really like it if you came out to meet me._

_Liz_

 

He glanced over the directions, frowning briefly, and headed out the door. So it was breakfast to go instead.

~*~

Daniel turned off the road and headed toward the outcropping Liz had indicated she would be by. He looked around and couldn’t see a car, for a brief moment he thought he had misread the directions but then noticed a motorcycle off in the distance. He wondered where Liz had gotten it at while pulling up next to the bike. Daniel noticed it was an older model, which Sam would have loved. He paused by the car after he climbed out, completely stunned by what he was seeing.

Liz was moving with a speed he hadn’t thought possible for a human, but than she wasn’t totally human anymore and he kept forgetting that. She was whipping around two cords with slim, lethal blades attached to the ends. It looked like a deadly dance. Her arms crossed over in front of her, she bent back and swirled them over her body. They were over her head, behind her, everywhere. Her body was covered in a sheen of sweat, and just when he had thought she couldn’t do anything else with her weapons, she flipped forward and backwards, she slid down into a split, which really had him thinking about her flexibility for a moment, than dropped them.

She tossed him a grin, like she had known he was there all the time, and started cooling down stretches. Those he at least recognized. He reached in the car and grabbed their drinks before walking closer.

“That was interesting,” Daniel couldn’t keep the awe from his voice, he had seen a lot of warriors in his nine years at the SGC, but what she had just done was beyond what he had ever seen. She had moved with a fluid grace, her body had been in completely tune with her weapons, she _was_ the weapon. Beautiful and deadly, she was a dangerous combination, one he was powerless to resist.

Liz bent down, snagged a towel from the top of her pack, than started to wipe her neck and arms off. She hadn’t been sure he would show up, but she had known the second he arrived, even as focused as she had been while practicing. The more she embraced her powers, the more she became aware of him. He was a beacon, a bright light shining in the dark and he drew her to him. It was different then what she had felt with Max, but equally compelling.

“I learned how to use the sha’ta from Melina. She was one of the few who knew how to use them. ”

Daniel held out the water he had brought her, “Melina?” He couldn’t help but ask, Liz had sounded almost wistful as she spoke the name.

Liz dropped the towel on her bag and reached out for the water, unscrewed the cap and took a sip. “Ah, that is wonderful. Thank you.” Liz frowned for a moment, before bending down and running her free hand over her weapons, as she did they changed back into pieces of ordinary rope. She looked up at him through hooded eyes, “She was my friend and, for a lack of a better word, an assassin. I met her not long after we arrived on Antar.” Sipping her coffee, Liz looked out toward the oddly shaped outcropping, before looking up at him, once again. Talking about Melina hurt, but it was easier in some ways than speaking about what she had to do. It was easier than telling, or showing Daniel why she had asked him here. “I didn’t like being followed around by guards and I didn’t like having to trust people I barely knew with my safety. I wanted to learn to fight because I couldn’t, make that wouldn’t rely on my powers. They were still weak and often unreliable. So, when I met Melina and found out who she was and what she did I asked her to help me. We became friends and she taught me everything she could. I left her behind, I shouldn’t have and that is one of the things I regret most.”

Liz stood quietly for a moment; she missed Melina. She missed her friendship and the implicit trust she’d had for the younger girl. Liz wanted Melina by her side right now; she wanted someone she could talk to who understood the nuances of what she was doing. Liz looked around; she had spent so much time here. She had never thought to return, and she would have never guessed she would for the reason she had.

Daniel waited; any good linguist knew listening was just as essential as talking. He was good at it too, because he also knew that often times silence said more then words ever could and right now Liz was telling him that this place was special to her. Every so often her lips would start to curve into a smile, her dark brown eyes would soften a bit before they darted somewhere else. But the silence stretched out long enough for them to both finish their coffee and he began to worry.

“Liz, are you alright?” She looked up at him as if startled it was almost as if she had been a thousand miles away when he called her name.

Liz turned and motioned toward the outcropping he had noticed earlier, but then it was hard not to see it. “I wanted to bring you here, I wanted you to understand something about who I am and what I will become.” Her voice became softer as she started to walk toward the rocks.

Daniel followed her and faltered for a moment as her words sunk in, “What you will become? Liz I don’t understand…”

Liz glanced at him as she continued to climb, she didn’t say a word, but she did hold out her hand and offer him a reassuring smile. She didn’t know how to say what she needed to say and she couldn’t offer him an explanation, all she could do was show him.

Stepping up to where she stood and was startled when she waved her hand over the rock face and a glowing handprint appeared. He felt oddly detached as he watched her place her hand in it and a door appeared and slid open.

He watched her step inside and turn to him, “Will you come with me?” He looked down to their still joined hands and nodded.

“Liz?” Daniel stopped and looked around; the sight of the cocoons startled him. “What are those?”

“That is where Max and the others were born.” Liz tugged on his hand, she wanted to get this done, and she knew he was curious, but she wasn’t up to explaining yet. “Come on, through here.” Liz led him to the Granolith chamber; well what had housed part of the granolith anyways.

Liz let go of Daniel’s hand and stepped toward the controls, this was so much more than they had even known, even when future Max had used it for time travel the potential of the Granolith had remained largely untapped. She had figured out some of it, enough to know she could claim her powers here anyways. She needed Daniel to see what she was capable of, if he wanted to be part of her life, and she really, really wanted him to be in it, he needed to know.

“This is the Granolith, or some of it. This is a…substation, for lack of a better term. It, the Granolith, can be used for many things, and I only know of a few.” Liz felt her palms sweating; when she accepted her seal everything she had ever done would be shown. Her past would be laid out for Daniel to see, every crime, every flaw and sin.

“Liz...” Daniel saw how pale she looked, but she cut him off before he could say anything else.

“I had a dream last night, and I know what I have to do.” Liz stepped closer to the machine and reached out, her hand hovering over it. “I need to embrace the Seal, something I never did the entire time I lived on Antar.” She looked back to Daniel and prayed to ever god and goddess she had ever heard of, be they real or not, that Daniel could accept all that she was and would be.  



End file.
